Connecter



Sept 45, 1933.A w. R. POUNDER 1,925,403.;

CONNECTER Filed June 14. 19:50

f77 72 Z0?? ZUZZZzJn/ZZ @ander Patented Sept... 9233 i,

CONNECTER Wilburgfltlounder, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Hubbard & Co.,Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application June 14, 1930.Serial No. 461,220

3 Claims. (Cl. 173-273) This invention relates to a connecter forconnecting a plurality of individual wires or taps to a.

f main wire. t

In an electrical distributionzsystem, main Wires 5 are tapped atfrequent` intervals'by individual wires leading to devices drawing powerfrom the main wires. For example, a main primary Wire is tapped atfrequent intervals by wires leading to the transformers which reduce thevoltage down to the value at which it is delivered to the customerspremises. Similarly, the secondary mains are tapped by drop wiresleading into customers premises. The connecter of my invention isserviceable for making connections of this type. i

In alarge distribution system, it frequently happens that at one of thepoints at which the main Wires are tapped there are a plurality ofindividual wires to be connected to the main wire. go For example, at atransformer pole there may be a group of three or four individual setsof transformers having a tap connecting it primarily to the mainprimary. Because of the multiplicity of connections to be made to themain primary wire and the necessity of soldering such connections ifthey are merely Wrapped around the main wire, it is customary to supplya clamping type connector for connecting such connections. Thiseliminates the necessity of soldering the' drop wire onto the main wireand consequent danger of burning and annealing the main wire and therebyreducing its tensile strength.

Clamps of this type are old in the art, and my invention may thereforebe considered an improvement over the devices of the known prior art.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention l'. provide a connectercomprising a body having a slot into'which the main primary wire isplaced 40 and clamped by a clamping member in the slot and a nutthreaded onto the outside of the body.

1 For convenience in handling I attach the clamping member xedly to thenut so that Athe two may be handled as a single unit, thereby reducingthe possibility of delay occasioned by the lineman dropping the clampingmember or nut.

The` connecter bodyv has a plurality of studs projecting from it, eachto receive an individual wire leading to the power consuming device. In

` the preferred embodiment of my'invention, each stud is provided with anut andwasher for clamp-V ing the wire that is wound around that stud tothe connecter body independently of the other wires so connected to it.From this arrangement,

the service connection to a customer may be connected to the mainWithout disturbing the service connections to other customer'swhichhappen to be extended through the same connecter.

In so far as I am aware, the devices of the prior art employed throughbolts which connected to individual Wires to the main wire,`anarrangement which prohibited clamping a second individual Wire to theconnecter without disturbing a rst individual wire held thereto by thesame bolt.

Further objects of my invention notspeciflcally mentioned here will beapparent froma reading of the detailed description and claims whichfollow.

Figure 1 is an elevational View of a preferred embodiment of myconnecter attached to a main wire and having individual wires attachedto it;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional viewi of the connecter taken on the line2-2 of Figure 1';

Figure 3 is a plan view looking down on the connecter as shown in Figurel with the nuts that hold the individual wire to it removed;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view through the connecter showing thearrangement for clamping the main wire to it; and

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the washer employed to hold theindividual wires to the con necter.

Referring to the drawing now in more detail, the connecter comprises amain thin nat sided body 1 the edge of which emerges into a threadedcylindrical portion 2 disposed at the top of it. 'Ihis cylindricalportion has a longitudinal slot 3 into which the main wire 4 is disposedwhen the device is in service. The slot has its sides substantiallyparallel to the ilat sides of the body so that the upper edge of theflat body portion serves as the bottom of the slot to secure a clampingsurface which extends a considerable distance along the conductor. TheWire 4 is held in the slot by a clamping member 5 which is T- shaped andis tted into the slot 3.

The lower face of the clamping member 5 is concave, as shown at 6, toconform to the Wire 4- 100 and contains a downwardly projecting boss 7disposed centrally of that portiontof the member. The bottom of the slot3 contains a concave depression 8 which registers with the projection -7of the clampingmember, the two to 105 gether serving to dent or deformthe main wire 4 and to thereby rigidly hold the connecter againstmovement longitudinally of it. This feature is optional.

The outside of the cylindrical portion 2 is pro llo vided with threads 9upon which the nut 10 is threaded to force the clamping member 5 downagainst the Wire 4 in the bottom of the slot 3. The upper end of theclamping member 5 is flared out at 11 over the upper surface of the nutto attach the clamping member to the nut so that the two members may behandled as a single unit. This reduces the likelihood of the linemanbeing delayed by dropping the clamping member or the nut when he isattaching the connecter to a main wire.

The lower portion of the body 1 of the connecter comprises a section 12having transverse flanges 13 and 14 disposed on opposite sides of it. yThe flange 14 is provided with slots 15 and 16 through which theindividual wiresl'l and 18 are extended. The portion of the body l2 isprovided with outwardly extending studs 19 and 20 which are threaded toreceive nuts 21 and 22 by which the wires 17 and 18 are separatelyremovably attached tothe connecter.

On the reverse side of the portion 12 are similar projecting studs 23and 24, which are also threaded to receive nuts 25 by which additionalwires 26 are attached to a connecter, and, also, there are slots in theflange 13 through which these wires 26 are passed.

Washers are interposed between the nuts and the adjacent portion of theconnecter, these washers preferably comprising cupped disks 28 havingprojecting ears 29 which t into the slots 15 and 16 to lock the washerand prevent rotation of the washer about the axis of the threaded studs19, 20, 23 and 24. The cup shape of the washer permits it to be flexedsufficiently to draw down tightly against the wires that are clampedbetween it and the planar portion l2 of the connecter, the tension inthe cup washer also serving as a lock to prevent the nut from beingreadily loosened. The cupping or coning of the wash-- ers 28-28 tend torestrain or prevent spreading or uncoiling of the end of the wire wherethe corresponding nut, such as 21 or 22, is drawn tight upon the same.The pressure of the conical inner surface of the washers tends to forcethe conductor or wire radially towards the stud in stead of away fromit. The concave formation of the ears 29 has a useful function in thatthe edges ofthe ear drop down below the edges of the flanges 13-14before the central part of the ear engages the conductor and its looseend. Thus the ear is definitely held in the slot of the flange and iskept from turning. A further important feature resides in said curvatureof the ear in that it secures a strengthening of the ear against bendingupwardly as the nut is drawn down against the washer. By thus formingthe Washer with the concaved under face as to both the main body and theear, the thickness of the body portion 12 of the connecter may begreatly reduced, since it is not necessary to form the same thick enoughto support a recess for each stud. This is particularly advantageous inthe present construction where two studs are in alignment on oppositesides.

In the manufacture of connecters of this type, I prefer to form theconnecter as a brass forging with the studs 19, 20, 23 and 24 integraltherewith and shaped and threaded as shown in the drawing. Thisconstruction may, of course,

j be modified within the teachings of my invention readline ringstaking, or both. Brass is the preferred metal to be used in theconstruction of this connecter, although bronze, copper, or any otherpreferred metal may be substituted therefor within the teachings of myinvention.

A connecter thus formed affords a quick and easy method of making arigid and tight electrical connection to a main wire, the connecterbeing of such a design that the lineman can easily handle it on the polewithout danger of dropping it. The connecter is applied to the mainconductor 4 without the necessity of cutting the conductor. The body ofthe connecter can be gripped by a suitable tool such as a pair of pliersor wrench applied to the flat parallel sides of the flanges 13 and 14and a wrench applied to the nut 10 to draw that nut tightly down on thethread 9, thereby vsecurely clamping the main wire in the connecter.

The arrangement of individual threaded studs 19, 20, 23 and 24 permitattaching a wire to the connecter without in any way disturbing any ofthe other individual wires connected to it. If, for example, it isdesired to connect the wire 17 to the stud 19 while a wire 26 is alreadyconnected lo@ to the stud 23, obviously the loosening of the nut 21 andits removal from the stud 19 in no way affects the clamping of the wirel26 by the nut 25 on the stud 23. This arrangement oi individual studsfor connecting the individual wires to the connecter further aids themaking of a tight joint at this point for the reason that it isunnecessary to apply a wrench to thecompanion stud when the nut on astud is being tightened. For example, when the nut on the stud 19 isbeing tightened, it is not necessary to hold the stud 23 by applying awrench to the nut thereon as would be necessary in the case of a throughbolt such as has been used in the devices of the prior art. If desired,the main body of the connecter n can be gripped by a suitable wrenchwhile the nuts on the studs 19, 20, 23 and 24 are being tightened;however, when the main wire 4 is of appreciable size, the connecter ismounted with suiiicient rigidity to render unnecessary the holding of itduring the tightening of the nuts on the studs.

Although I have chosen to show a 'preferred embodiment of my invention,I have done so by way of example only, as there are many modificationsand adaptations which can be made by one skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, and I am not therefore to belimited by the specirk: disclosure but only by the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. A connecter for joining a main conductor with one or more branchconductors, comprising a relatively thin and wide plate member havingone edge disposed longitudinally of the main conductor to contacttherewith, integral parallel extensions proceeding from the sides of theplate at said one edge, said extensions forming a slotted stud, saidstud being threaded to receive a clamping nut, said edge of the platehaving a conductor receiving groove of substantially greater length thanthe diameter of the stud extending through the slot of the stud forlocating and clamping the main conductor, a clamping piece, 145 of alength greater than the diameter of the stud and substantially equal tothe length of the said groove on the edge of the plate, lying in theslot under the clamping nut, and clamping studs extending from the flatsides of the plate for 150 clamping said branch conductors.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a at bodyportion having a stud formed integral With and merging into the upperedge of the body portion, said stud being of a diameter substantially inexcess of the thickness of the body portion and having a slottherethrough in alignment with the edge of the body portion whereby thebody portion supports the bottom of the slotted stud, said stud beingthreaded, a clamping member lying in the slot, means cooperating withthe threads on the stud for pressing the clamping member toward thebottom of the slot, said body portion having a ange extending fromopposite sides of the lower edge, threaded studs rigid with the bodyportion and extending in alignment with each other from` opposite sidesof the body portion said flanges having notches therein adjacent thestuds, a nut on each of said latter studs and a concave washer with itscupped side toward the side of the body portion for each of said latterstuds, said washers having integral ears arched in cross section topermit their edges to extend over a conductor and at the same time toengage the edges of the notch.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a at bodyportion having a threaded stud formed integral with and merging into theupper edge of the body portion, said stud being of a diametersubstantially in excess of the thickness of the body portion and havinga slot therethrough in alignment with the edge of the body portionwhereby the body portion supports the bottom of the slotted stud andprovides a bearing surface of greater length than the diameter of thestud, a clamping member lying in the slot, means cooperating with thethreaded stud for pressing the clamping member towards the bottom of theslot, said body portion having iianges extending from opposite sides ofthe lower margin thereof, the central part of said flanges being in`longitudinal alignment with said stud and providing a suitable engagingportion for a wrench, there being a notch through each flangev onopposite sides of said central portion of the anges, aligned pairs ofstuds disposed on opposite sides of the body portion, said studs beingdisposed adjacent the notches in the flanges,

